Standards for image processing within reach

International Vision Standards spring 2018 meeting to be held in Frankfurt, Germany

By Martin Cassel, Silicon Software

In the image processing industry, the standardization board meets every six months at the International Vision Standards Meeting (IVSM) to specify and adopt the most important developments and standards, but also to communicate with the automationindustry. The next meeting will take place May 14-18, 2018 in Frankfurt, Germany, and is being organized by the VDMA in collaboration with Silicon Software GmbH.

In 2009, the international G3 initiative was founded to support standardization within the global image processing industry and to coordinate the development of globally recognized standards for Machine Vision. The G3 is comprised of five associations: Advancing Vision + Imaging (AIA), European Machine Vision Association (EMVA), Japan Industrial Imaging Association (JIIA), China Machine Vision Union (CMVU) and VDMA Machine Vision (VDMA MV). Although the IVSM is held worldwide on a rotating basis, separate work groups expedite the different standards. The Future Standards Forum (FSF), a G3 work group, discusses, evaluates and decides new standards.

A new work group formed by the VDMA and OPC Foundation will discuss OPC Vision for the first time. The goal of this work group is to realize an OPC UA Companion Specification for a generic interface between image processing devices and IT systems from the process / plant automation environment as well as to programmable logic controllers. “Make Machine Vision ready for Industry 4.0,” is both the target and the motivation.

A separate work group oversees the GenICam standard. An important subject here are the enhancements of the embedded vision standard to harmonize and simplify access on embedded image processing devices. With this standard, the use of embedded vision in different environments—factory floor, robotics, medicine technology, to name a few—should be guaranteed.

During the event, developers will also participate in the interoperability PlugFest, where multiple hardware and software components are tested amongst each other’s image processing devices for compatibility issues.

“The availability of standardized interfaces supports the development of completely new components, applications and products which customers can take over and easily adapt. Thus, image processing will expand and establish new markets in the long-term,” said Dr. Klaus-Henning Noffz, Managing Director of Silicon Software. “As investment costs decrease, market availability will accelerate. Users profit from fast knowledge build-up, long lifecycle guarantees and better product comparison”, completes Dr. Reinhard Heister, in charge of Vision standardization subjects at the VDMA.

Photo/Copyright: Mathias Konrath

Information, agenda and registration details can be found at: https://ivsm2018.silicon.software